Friends of the Ochils Newsletter 20: Spring 2002
A few diverse biodiversity notes:
Stirling Council Biodiversity Action Plan
Jonathan Willet, Stirling Council biodiversity officer, writes:
WORK HAS FINISHED on the draft stages of the second volume of the Stirling Biodiversity Action Plan. Last year we launched the first volume and have been acting on it this year - eg the free swift boxes (details across the page). We will be launching the consultation process for the second volume at the start of May and look forward to receiving comments from as many people as possible. This volume will include 24 habitat and species action plans, including the four urban habitats: greenspace, transport corridors, the built environment and gardens. As we all have access to at least three of these habitats I hope there will be a great deal of interest in what the plans have to say.
Consultation drafts will be available for viewing in local libraries and a limited number of copies will be available direct to individuals. The consultation will run until the end of June and should allow organisations to put their names to actions they can undertake, while people should suggest actions that we have overlooked.
Once the comments have come back in, we will review the draft Habitat and Species Action Plans and then produce the second volume of the Stirling Biodiversity Action Plan itself. The launch will coincide with National Biodiversity Week, which runs from 31 August to 9 September.
For more information on the Stirling Biodiversity Action Plan, contact me at 01786 442768 or willetj@stirling.gov.uk
AS PART OF the Biodiversity Action Plan, Stirling Council and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers Scotland have made 200 swift boxes to be put up all over Stirling district in areas where swifts are believed to nest. Swifts are almost completely black, apart from a pale throat patch. They are slightly larger than swallows and have long sickle-shaped wings. Summer migrants, they return from Africa in early May and leave in late August. During the breeding season (May-July), they are often seen in "screaming parties", flying very fast, close to their nest sites. They usually nest in buildings with gaps where the walls join the roof.
The exact number of breeding swifts is not known, but it is thought they are in decline. The main cause is likely to be a lack of nest sites, caused by renovation work to older buildings and a lack of nooks and crannies in new buildings.
As well as encouraging swift-friendly repair and renovation of houses, Stirling Council is looking to increase the number of nest sites by asking householders and businesses to put up boxes. Swifts require a four-metre vertical drop from their nests, to allow them to get up enough speed to enter their nests. They have extremely short legs and aren't very good at perching, so need a "flier" to enter their nests.
Swift breeding areas within the eastern part of Stirling district include Bridge of Allan, Cowie, Dunblane, Plean and Stirling itself (Top o' the Town, King's Park and Riverside). Swifts prefer to nest in areas with other swifts, so it is unlikely that a box would be occupied in an area with no breeding swifts. If you live in one of these areas, or regularly see swifts near your house and would like a box or two, please contact me at the number/e-address given above. You will have to attach the box to your house and will be asked to fill out a simple swift survey form to record activity. It usually takes a year for a box to be used, as young swifts prospect sites for use the following summer, but it's not impossible that a box could be occupied in its first year.
Finally, to save any confusion with other birds, swifts never perch on wires, do not build mud nests and do not have any obvious white patches on them. Swallows have red throats, white breasts, blue bodies, long forked tails and build cup-shaped mud nests in barns and sheds. They will often perch on wires, chattering away. House martens build enclosed mud nests under the eaves of houses, are blue with white breasts and rumps, and have short forked tails.